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On Tuesday morning, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson announced his team of 12 that will compete in Rome.
The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, a few miles northeast of Italy’s capital.
There were six automatic qualifiers who have already punched their ticket to Rome in Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman and Max Homa.
“Quality guys, great competitors and probably better off the course than on it,” Johnson said Tuesday morning of his six players already on his squad.
There were a lot more than six other players who had the qualifications and talent to get a ticket to Rome. However, Johnson made his decision based on what he feels is the best way for the United States to win the Ryder Cup on European soil for the first time in 30 years.
Those six players chosen by Johnson are Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns and Rickie Fowler.
Johnson said his picks give him options to switch up different matchups when it comes to four-ball and foursome play the first two days.
“They check all the boxes,” Johnson said of his picks. “Fierce competitors, great versatility, great flexibility when it comes to pairings, when it comes the fit from the Marco Simone, a great fit for each other, which is massive.”
Here are five reactions to Zach Johnson’s U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Brooks Koepka is only player from LIV Golf competing for U.S.
Eleven of Johnson’s 12 picks are players who are currently on the PGA Tour.
The other, who is a former member of the PGA Tour, has a Ryder Cup resume that is just as worthy as the rest of the room.
That player in Brooks Koepka, who plays on the LIV Golf circuit.
Koepka is coming off a 2023 season that included playing four events toward the U.S. Ryder Cup Standings. He had the 54-hole lead at the Masters in April before losing it to Jon Rahm, and won the PGA Championship the following month for the third time.
Related: Top takeaways from Brooks Koepka being victorious at the 2023 PGA Championship
Johnson said Koepka has a lot of positive experiences when it comes to the Ryder Cup, including not losing a singles match in three appearances in 2016, 2018 and 2021.
“When it came to BK, his experience, his temperament, the way he goes about his work, his passion for the Ryder Cup, possible valence and he basically earned his way onto the team,” Johnson said. “It was a pretty easy pick. These guys wanted him, I wanted him and a very natural fit.”
Koepka, who was about 30 points behind Schauffele for the sixth and final automatic spot, will be playing in his fourth Ryder Cup with a 6-5-1 record before play begins.
Justin Thomas makes U.S. roster with Ryder Cup experience
Even despite reasons that Justin Thomas was not going to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team, there were pros and cons on both sides.
Although Thomas missed the FedEx Cup for the first time in his career and missed the cut in five of his final events to the 2022-23 PGA Tour season, he has a 6-2-1 Ryder Cup record and can change the course of match with his energy alone, especially as people saw during the 2019 Presidents Cup when he was paired with Tiger Woods.
This is Thomas’ sixth consecutive national team he has made, dating back to the 2017 Presidents Cup, the year he took home his first major.
However, Johnson valued experience and his winning Ryder Cup record, which played a big role in Thomas getting a roster spot.
“Justin Thomas, one of the most talented players on the PGA Tour in my opinion, he has without question, been the heart and soul of Team USA Ryder Cups, our emotional leader,” Johnson said. “He just leads by example. His passion for the Ryder Cup is very evident.
“In my mind, he was born for this. You just don’t leave JT at home.”
Within his 6-2-1 record, he is 2-0-1 in four-ball events, 2-2-0 in foursomes and a perfect 2-0 in singles.
Sam Burns is one of four Ryder Cup rookies for Team USA
Of Johnson’s six picks, only one is a rookie in Sam Burns, who joins Harman, Clark and Homa as the newcomers to this year’s squad.
Burns won the only match play event on the PGA Tour at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event back in March.
“Sam is a tremendous putter, which is a good thing to have for the Ryder Cup and to say he meshes well with the other guys on the team is a massive understatement,” Johnson said.
Scheffler and Burns were paired together last year during the President’s Cup and was unable to win a match together, despite the Americans getting the win.
It gives the opportunity for Burns to feel grateful to be on this team this year.
“For me personally, there’s no higher honor than to represent your country,” Burns said. “To be a part of this Ryder Cup and to tee up alongside these world-class players and guys. Extremely excited.”
Who got snubbed?
Two players standout as to who received the unfortunate news that they were not going with Johnson and the team to Rome.
The first is Cameron Young, who ranked ninth in the U.S. Ranking before Tuesday’s announcement. Young lost to Burns in the final match of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March. In addition, Young finished inside the top 10 at the Masters and the Open Championship.
Young, the 2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, went 1-1-2 during last year’s President’s Cup for Team USA.
In addition to Young, a veteran got the bad news in Keegan Bradley, who won the ZOZO Championship in Japan last October and the Travelers Championship, which was the final designated event of the schedule, in June.
Bradley finished inside the top 10 of the FedEx Cup Standings and finished tied for ninth at the Tour Championship last week.
Johnson, who plays on the PGA Tour, said he talked to a lot of players, whether or not they made the team and got a lot of insight and support.
“All of my phone calls were difficult. That goes without saying. It’s part of what I was warned by my vice captains that have sat in this seat before,” Johnson said.
